This is not my hometown

When I first moved in my apartment about a month ago, I had a strange feeling walking around my new neighborhood--Xinbeitou--as if my neighbors didn't quite accept me in their world. It was a different feeling than in other parts of Taipei, though I've had this feeling before. A stranger. An alien.

However, lately, as I walk about, I have a familiar feeling. The sites are familiar. The faces are familiar. I walk into shops and the people know me. I walk by and they greet me. The guy in the Seven-Eleven near my apartment said to me the other night: "You're home early this evening."